The present invention relates to a device for tattooing animals.
It is particularly, but not exclusively, adapted to tattooing piglets.
The most widespread method of tattooing piglets for identification purposes consists in using an instrument that is generally in the form of a hammer, with the end of the instrument being provided with a support for tattooing characters.
The characters are formed by juxtapositions of needles.
To make a tattoo, the needles are initially inked by applying them against a sponge that has previously been impregnated in ink.
It will be understood that the quality of the tattoo depends on the somewhat random quantity of ink that comes into contact with the needles. The amount of ink that is transferred is relatively little if the ink in or on the sponge has begun to dry.
In addition, depending on the technique and the skill of operators, the amount of pain inflicted on animals by the strike itself can be greater and more traumatic than the pain generated by the needles penetrating into the skin.
Since tattooing is done xe2x80x9con-the-flyxe2x80x9d, the zone of impact on the skin of the animals is never exactly the same.
A device is also known that is in the form of a pistol which comprises a punch carrying characters, likewise comprising needles, and associated with the rod of an actuator. When the rod is extended, the punch is subjected to the same displacement, thus enabling it to perform tattooing.
The needles are inked in the same manner as before, i.e. by previously pressing the needles against a sponge. The xe2x80x9cpistolxe2x80x9d therefore needs to be used twice over, thus making it more likely that the ink will dry.
In addition, because of the rapid movement of the actuator rod, the ink tends to migrate towards the roots of the needles, so the marked characters are not very visible at the surface of the animal""s skin.
Document DE-A-1 607 112 relates to improvements to devices for marking animals. That device comprises a head connected to an oscillating arm and provided with a series of needles.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, ink is conveyed via a tube to a dispenser piece which communicates with a porous mass.
The arm is guided in a sheath, such that the actuator mechanism of the head is similar to that of an actuator.
As shown in the above-specified figures, when not performing a tattooing operation, the needles are fully housed inside the mass which is designed to be compressible, and they only come out therefrom for the purpose of tattooing.
Document GB-A-2 234 420 discloses a tattooing device with a vibrating head, fitted with a series of needles.
It is stated that a mass of absorbent material, attached to the head, can be fed with ink. When the head is subjected to vibratory motion, the needles pass through the material and pick up ink. They are then immediately returned to the inside of the material and again directed towards the skin of the animal.
The devices described in those documents enable the problems raised above to be resolved in part.
Nevertheless, the moving members they comprise are not genuinely separate from the element that carries the needles. There is thus a high risk of the ink migrating towards these moving members, and that runs the risk of interfering with proper operation thereof.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide a tattooing device which in addition to providing a solution to the above-mentioned problems, also makes it possible to perform tattooing without the ink migrating towards moving parts.
The tattooing device can be used for marking animals without it being necessary to begin by inking the needles.
It makes it possible to perform tattooing of constant quality, without giving rise to significant trauma in animals.
The device of the present invention comprises a device for tattooing animals, the device comprising a moving needle-carrier plate whose needles are designed to be covered in ink and to press, at the end of the stroke of the plate, against the skin of an animal in order to tattoo it, and a spongy pad soaked in ink lying on the path of the needles and suitable for being pierced by the needles so that they project against the skin of the animal at the moment of impact.
It is characterized by the fact that said pad is integrated with the plate, the assembly being moved by a hammer housed in a guide barrel, and that said plate is secured to the outside face of a resilient diaphragm which closes one end of said barrel.
By means of this device, the needles are covered in ink at the moment they pass through the pad. There is no risk of the ink drying out and it is distributed uniformly over the entire surface of the needles as they pass through the body of the pad. Consequently, marking can be made to constant quality.
Furthermore, because the plate is secured to a resilient diaphragm which closes one end of the barrel, complete sealing is provided between said plate and the moving members.
According to other advantageous but non-limiting characteristics of the device:
the inside face of the diaphragm is secured to an anvil suitable for being struck by said hammer;
the slider, respectively the hammer, are secured to the rod of an actuator;
said pad is connected to ink-feeder means;
said feeder means comprise a storage receptacle connected to said pad via a flow tube;
said receptacle is placed in such a manner that the flow of ink towards the pad takes place under gravity; and
said tube communicates with said pad, the pad being compressible so that it becomes impregnated with ink each time it expands to its initial non-compressed shape after being subjected to an impact.